Asian Chicken Drumsticks

This Asian Grilled Chicken Drumsticks recipe is a great way to put a delicious twist on inexpensive chicken drumsticks this grilling season. I find the sweet and salty Asian chicken marinade adds incredible flavor as well as helping the chicken maintain moisture. The chicken drumsticks marinated in this are not just flavorful, but tender and juicy too! This recipe uses bone-in chicken for extra flavor and juiciness. Directions are included for air fryer and baked chicken drumsticks in this delicious chicken chicken drumstick marinade. Asian chicken drumsticks often balance sweet, savory, and spicy elements, making them a crowd-pleasing favorite.

The Asian chicken marinade recipe is also perfect for other cuts of chicken beside chicken legs, especially other dark meat cuts like boneless skinless chicken thighs. It's great on chicken wings, and yes you can use it on chicken breasts too!

These Asian Chicken Drumsticks are actually a melding of a simple soy sauce based Asian BBQ sauce and a technique I recently found to slash chicken skin to help marinade penetrate.

I stumble upon a recipe called Psycho Chicken... yup, they went there.  The recipe wasn't what I was looking for, but I found the technique used in it, of slashing the chicken skin all over intriguing.  This allows the marinate to absorb into the meat well, while the remaining skin helps lock in moisture (removing chicken skin can be a  cumbersome task on some poultry cuts too).  I moved on, but still had haunting visions of a hapless chicken getting the business from Norman Bates.

Not grilling weather? Make air fryer chicken drumsticks using the Asian marinade.

I served the Asian glazed chicken drumsticks with Peanut Butter Noodles (a favorite of my daughter) and steamed broccoli, but simple homemade fried rice would have been perfect with it.

Budget Meal: Chicken drumsticks are an affordable and budget-friendly cut of meat, making this dish economical as well as delicious.

Making Asian Drumsticks

The chicken drumstick recipe makes 4 servings, but can easily be doubled or tripled when you have guests.

Ingredients

Here is everything you will need to make this delicious chicken, including the Asian chicken leg marinade.

• 1 ½ pounds chicken drumsticks approximate

Asian Chicken Marinade Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon light brown sugar packed
• 2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or 1 tablespoon soy sauce & 1 tablespoon Ponzu sauce
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon curry powder
• 1 large garlic clove, minced ( 1 - 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic or ½ teaspoon of garlic powder ) Use 2 cloves garlic if you are a garlic lover.

Asian marinades such as this can be used on various cuts of chicken, such as thighs and wings as well.

Preparation

I put the drumsticks into a zippered storage bag  with the Asian chicken marinade and tossed them to coat. The chicken was left to marinate for four hours.

Grill the drumsticks, over medium for 20-25 minutes, flipping over at the halfway point. Check the chicken legs with a meat thermometer, you want to reach an internal temperature of 170 degrees F.

For extra flavor: Cook the leftover marinade down a bit, then baste the chicken with it as it cooks.

Serving

When serving, garnish the Asian chicken drumsticks with toasted sesame seeds or finely sliced green onions for added flavor and visual appeal. These drumsticks are great as an appetizer or as a main course when paired with suitable sides such as rice, noodles, stir-fried vegetables, coconut rice, cauliflower rice, steamed or boiled broccoli with garlic, a refreshing salad with Asian dressing, or even crispy French fries.

While the chicken legs have plenty of flavor as is, if you love to dunk try them with some BBQ sauce, hoisin sauce, katsu sauce or a hot sauce such as Sriracha sauce.

Storing

Cooled leftover chicken legs can be stored in a airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. [source USDA]

In the mood for a sandwich? Try my Asian Chicken Burger with Broccoli Slaw.

Asian Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken drumsticks recipe in Asian marinade. Directions for grill, oven and air fryer. A great budget appetizer for parties!

5 from 17 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer, Entree

Cuisine: American, Asian, Chinese

Diet: Low Lactose

Keyword: asian chicken marinade, chicken drumstick recipes

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Marinate: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 4 hours hours 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 217kcal

Author: Robin Gagnon

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds chicken drumsticks approximate

Asian Chicken Drumstick Marinade

• 2 tablespoon light brown sugar packed
• 2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or 1 tbs soy sauce & 1 tbs Ponzu sauce
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon curry powder
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced ( 1 - 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic or ½ teaspoon of garlic powder)
• sesame seeds optional garnish

Instructions

• Whisk together ingredients for marinate.
• Cut a few slashes into the skin of each drumstick, it is OK if you go into the meat a little.
• Combine the marinate and drumsticks in zippered storage bag and marinate for about 4 hours.
• Preheat grill, then reduce to medium when you put drumsticks on (reserve the marinate).
• While drumsticks are cooking zap the marinate in the microwave for 1 ½ minutes, stir, then zap another minute if needed, just enough to thicken the marinate a little for basting.
• Turn the drumsticks after 10-12 minutes. Then turn and baste in about 10 more minutes. Check the chicken legs with a meat thermometer, you want to reach an internal temperature of 170 degrees F.
• Let glaze set (1-2 minutes), then turn & baste other side. Remove chicken when that glaze sets.
• When serving sprinkle with sesame seeds or sliced scallions if you like.

Notes

Use 2-3 garlic cloves if you are a big lover of garlic flavor.

The marinade is great for other cuts of chicken as well, particularly chicken thighs and chicken wings.

For an extra punch of flavor, you can make a thick sticky glaze by reducing leftover marinade in a saucepan. Toss the cooked drumsticks in this glaze or drizzle over when serving.

For Baked Chicken Drumsticks:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the chicken in a single layer on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes. Flip after 20-25 minutes to cook evenly.

Air Fryer Asian Chicken Drumsticks

For Air Fryer: Preheat to 390 degrees F and arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer in the basket. Air fry for 20 minutes, flipping halfway.

Nutrition

Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 389mg | Potassium: 268mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 0.6mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.9mg